Chelsea: Kurt Zouma’s future is immune to Everton rumour mongering
Chelsea are depriving the transfer rumour mill of their usual grist, so chatter about Kurt Zouma persists even though he should not be going anywhere.
Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma spent last season on loan at Everton. For the player and teams, it was a good all-round deal. Zouma gained excellent first-team action in a side believing they were good enough but not quite hitting the mark. In an under-performing team, the centre-back excelled.
Intelligently, the city of Liverpool’s second team are keen to get the Frenchman onto their books before the start of the coming season. Chelsea would be foolish to let Zouma go.
With Frank Lampard’s team currently under a transfer embargo, the likelihood of any business being done this transfer window is almost non-existent. That said, they’ve still managed more than the majority of their rivals to this point, having secured Christian Pulisic last January and by exercising a clause in Mateo Kovacic’s loan deal that allowed it to become permanent. The return of loanees like Zouma and Tammy Abraham further increase the feeling of a club doing good business this summer.
Of course, in the soap opera world in which Chelsea exist, the spectre of no gossip to be had concerning the potential arrival of this player or that, to the media, removes the butter from their bread. All they’re left with is the probability of any given player wanting out. Kurt Zouma is an easy target for this kind of tittle-tattle.
Having had an excellent season at Everton, he developed his understanding of the Premier League much quicker than he would have from the bench under Maurizio Sarri. According to Transfermarkt, his value increased by £9 million over the course of the season.
Why would Marina Granovskaia possibly think it would be a good idea to allow the Toffees to buy him now? The central defender still has four years left to run on his current contract and has a good chance of featuring under Frank Lampard in the coming 12 months.
Those contractual four years Chelsea have with Kurt Zouma would make his price a relatively hefty one for Everton to stomach.
As ever with the gossip mongering that surrounds Chelsea, it’s easy to see how it’s a believable story, though. The Euro’s are coming up next summer and Zouma doesn’t want to risk missing out his national team because he’s not playing club football.
However, Frank Lampard has already said he’d like Zouma to stay.
In terms of competition for places, Antonio Rudiger is almost certain to be Lampard’s first pick in the centre of defence.
The second spot is definitely up for grabs, though. David Luiz, despite being a positive influence in the dressing room, has lapses in concentration that won’t make him an auto-pick. Andreas Christensen still needs to develop further and lacks Zouma’s experience and – let’s be honest – his… bulk.
There’s no reason why Chelsea’s two starting central defenders cannot be Antonio Rudiger and Kurt Zouma, just not for the first few games. With Rudiger likely to miss the start of the Premier League season and no one else coming in, it would be madness to let Zouma leave. Add in Everton’s “thou shalt do as I say and not as I do” transfer policy and it becomes a no-brainer.
The crucial part of Chelsea’s pre-season has now begun. Those who are likely to depart on loan have left the squad and the hard work for those who remain is underway as Lampard hones his starting XI.
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The media are trying to create a story where there isn’t one. Kurt Zouma needs to make sure his story begins its next chapter on the team sheet for Chelsea’s first Premier League game at Old Trafford in three weeks time.